[An Nahar] A stray bullet fired from inside Syria maimed a Jordanian soldier on the border on Friday, prompting the kingdom's army to respond to the source of fire, an armed forces front man said.

"The border area in Tel Shehab has in the past few hours witnessed heavy fighting... as opposed to the more usual light or desultory fighting... between the Syrian (regime) army and the Free Syrian Army," he said in a statement carried by the state-run Petra news agency.

"This time, however, and in an act of self-defense, the army used a suitable response to the source of fire. The army will not hesitate in the future to take all necessary measures to defend Jordanian territory and border."